


Your Nightmare Has Just Begun

by emryskynobi



Series: The Multi-Verse of STAR WARS [3]
Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gen, Legends Canon, M/M, NOT COMPLIANT WITH THE CLONE WARS SERIES, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, but totally oblivious Obi-Wan when it comes to Anakin's feelings for him, not so oblivious Obi-Wan when it comes to Anakin's "secret" relationship, only partly compliant with the Legends canon of this time, please do not post to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23168542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emryskynobi/pseuds/emryskynobi
Summary: Warnings: Spoilers for the Legends CW comics as printed by Dark Horse.Summary: Anakin kills Ventress in a fight after returning from a mission with the fallen Jedi Quinlan Vos (Legends CW comics) – but she has not finished her self-appointed task quite yet.  She leaves behind one last gift for Obi-Wan.  A gift that has dangerous consequences for the Jedi Master.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: The Multi-Verse of STAR WARS [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662073
Comments: 12
Kudos: 16





	Your Nightmare Has Just Begun

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on my live journal which I will be closing again soon because I am lousy at keeping it up to date in 2007.
> 
> It is unfinished but I might be willing to give it up for adoption, though I don't know for sure at the moment.

**Please remember this story is not compliant with The Clone Wars show that has Ahsoka Tano in it. The canon that I use comes from the Legends canon. Thank you.**

* * *

Anakin stood out on the balcony, listening to Padmé talk to Dormé – or may be it was Sabé. It could also be Moteé for all he could tell, he never could tell the difference between them after all – about something or other. Staring out at the night sky, he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong - that he shouldn't be here, but back on Coruscant.

“Ani? Are you all right?” Padmé asked, coming out to join him.

His eyes closed as he breathed in the scent of her perfume and sighed, uneasily. There was a strange kind of unrest inside of him – and he couldn’t stand to be with her while he was struggling to understand it. “Yes…no. I don’t know. Listen, Padmé, would you mind if I just went to bed? I had a terrible fight, we can talk tomorrow.”

“Sure,” she answered, confused by his withdrawal. He _never_ acted like this. “I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

“That’s all right, Padmé. I just want to sleep,” he replied, wondering why he was rejecting her offer of comfort. It wasn’t like he didn’t need it – he did. After months and months in the field, he could use the release. Not just the physical pleasure of it but the emotional release it would give him to hold and be held.

Strangely enough, he didn’t want it and he wondered if that might have something to do with what happened between him and Ventress earlier that night. Or if there was something else going on. Dropping an absent kiss on her forehead, he passed her by and sat down on the bed in the guest room. Pulling off his boots, he stared at the floor, slowly removing his cloak and placing his lightsaber on the bedside table. _Can’t lose that_ , he thought with a bitter smile, _Master Kenobi would have an absolute fit_.

“Are you sure?” she asked, hesitating in the doorway. “I’ve missed you, Ani. It’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to be together.”

“Padmé, not tonight,” he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Though he couldn’t stand to hear the hurt in her voice, he just couldn’t be with her – not in that way. It felt wrong – like he was betraying Obi-Wan on a deeper level than he had before.

Of course, he’d always loved his former Master – but there was something different to his love for him now. The feeling had been growing over the war and now, it filled him with a confused feeling of discontent and desolation because he could not be with Obi-Wan.

For the first time in his life, he felt wrong in his love for the both of them. Felt that it just wasn’t enough for him – for the both of them. And he could not figure out why that would be when he still loved his wife. It just wasn’t the same. “Just…I can’t tonight. I’m sorry.”

“Good night, Ani,” she shut the door behind her, leaving him in the semi-darkness.

He fell back against the pillows, defeated. The feel of her hurt anger lingered in the air about him and yet, it only occupied a small part of his mind. Padmé was…his wife. She should be his focus while he had these stolen moments with her for they were hard won.

The mission that he and Obi-Wan had recently finished had been surprisingly successful with few costs to their side – for once. After months of hellish battles, it had been nice that one had been completed with minimal damage to them and their men.

They had been granted a vacation, one he knew that they both sorely needed – though he was sure his Master was inventing work to do for the man could never just _relax_ and take it easy without Anakin prodding him to take better care of himself.

Shaking his head at that thought, he once again felt out of place here.

Within this beautiful home, he should feel at ease. He had felt ease, homecoming – before this hellish war started that was. And yet, now he did not though it was designed for comfort without being smothering, as per Padmé’s request of her brother-in-law. He had known what she needed when she asked for a place in which she could hide away from the pressures of her job and the press that followed her about.

Yet, all he could feel was the intense need to be with his Master. An intense, almost insatiable desire to be at his side that burned within him - and was the reason he'd fled so quickly to Naboo.

He needed to think and process what had happened and couldn't with in the Temple because of the fight - and because of Obi-Wan for there was something about his Master that set his teeth on edge. There was some darkness surrounding his Master – darkness that felt like Asajj Ventress. But he knew that was impossible. He’d killed that witch earlier that night. Without thought or care for what he was doing and what he called to his aid, he’d killed that fiend who had **_dared_** to lay a cruel hand on his Master.

Who had stolen Obi-Wan from his side, causing anguish to rip through him. Anguish – and rage that he had, _once again_ , been robbed of someone he loved dearly. And long weeks had passed by with agonizing slowness in which he did not know what he was doing – he still wasn’t quite sure what had occurred during that blackened time – while he continually sought after his Master’s comforting touch.

A touch he’d been denied.

But he’d not been able to relinquish his hope for he could still _feel_ him out there, somewhere – no matter what the idiots of the Council had said. Obi-Wan was still alive, he knew it – _and his faith had eventually been proven right_.

He **_knew_** that he would know if his Master had died. It was a bittersweet victory for him and for months afterwards, he could not bear to let him out of his sight. To this day, he rarely let him leave his side – even going so far as to sleep outside his quarters, something that would embarrass Obi-Wan if he knew about it.

Closing his eyes, he fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Obi-Wan watched Anakin take off, the knowledge of where he was going twisted deeply inside of him. The knowledge that his friend did not trust him enough to tell him, though it was obvious to anyone who paid attention to him. It hurt so much, this secrecy between them, the secret that Anakin could not – or would not – tell him. It opened up a canyon of hurt between them that Obi-Wan could not breach alone.

Silent tears tore into his heart. Tears he valiantly ignored, trying to be happy for his beloved friend, trying desperately not to feel hurt, knowing that what he should feel is offended that Anakin thought he was so stupid as to not notice what was going on.

Happy that he’d found a haven somewhere, a place to hide from this hellish war. This hellish war that tore into the younger man, that ate away at him. It was hardening Anakin, making him lose his innocent joy in the simplest of things. Though he worried about how this secret relationship would affect him as a Jedi, he knew that Anakin was happy.

As he stood there, he wondered just how deep the relationship between Anakin and Padmé went – and why he felt so unreasonably betrayed by it. Why did it hurt him – this deception of Anakin’s – on a level that had nothing to do with the Jedi Order.

Turning away from the gloomy night sky at last, he made his way slowly down the stairs, thankful that no one was there. But the unnatural stillness of the Temple made him eerily aware that something was not quite right.

Entering his quiet apartment, he dropped his cloak and walked slowly into the fresher, ready to be rid of the taint of the day. Though grateful that his friend was back with them, there was no way he felt entirely comfortable with what happened to them on that mission. Too many painful memories had returned to him – and Anakin, though he’d deny it when asked.

Turning on the water full blast, he allowed the coldness to awaken his senses so that he could focus on getting some things finished and end this unproductive moping. For that was what this was, he firmly told himself - he was moping and he needed to stop. There were other things he had to do, a mere glance at one of his tables would reveal many data pads, awaiting his perusal. While he was not on active duty in the field, his work was far from finished. There were many reports from the Jedi Council that he felt he should read over, to get caught up on so that he would be able to talk more knowledgably with the other members in their next session. Leaning back under the spray of water, he felt his tensions leave him, washed down the drain with the rest of the grime.

Suddenly, he fell to his knees, choking against hands that tightened against his throat, squeezing tightly with so much strength, so much rage and anger, that he saw blackness fogging his vision instantly.

There was not momentarily vision of gray or stars.

It was pitch black. Clawing at his throat, tearing about uselessly to try to find his attacker – he found nothing there before his eyes closed, darkness swamping his vision in shades of blood red.

* * *

“Master Kenobi?” a voice called to him incessantly when he uttered a soft moan. A gentle hand smoothed his brow with a soft cloth, rousing him with the soothing warmth upon his crusty eyes. Blinking, he looked up into the concerned face of Knight Offee who smiled in relief at seeing his eyes, quickly telling him, “Don’t try to speak. You’ve got some bad lacerations on your throat.”

She watched as he looked about, totally confused. Understanding quickly dawned in her eyes as she realized the question he couldn’t voice aloud. Glancing over her shoulder, she did not see Master Unduli and knew that she would have to explain to him what was going on.

She did not look forward to that at all for Master Kenobi’s reaction to their ward was legendary – and would have been insulting had they not been Jedi. “Welcome back to the Healer’s Ward, sir. We missed you so much, we decided to kidnap you and keep you hostage,” she joked.

A tiny smile crossed his face but it did not erase the worried question in his eyes.

“Not buying it, are you?” she asked.

Shaking his head, he waited patiently for her to reply.

“Master Vos found you in your shower, unconscious. He brought you to us as soon as he recognized the signs of strangulation. That was over two days ago,” she answered his next question, anticipating it easily.

_Who_?

She watched as his lips formed the word and shrugged. “We don’t know. There was no sign of forced entry – or even that anyone had been there with you. Yet, all the signs of strangulation were present in the attack upon you – hence your hurt throat. As of right now, we have no evidence that anyone was in your apartment at all.

“Now, a powerful enough Force sensitive could have strangled you outside your room, that is true,” she anticipated this point and spoke before he could try. “But we checked the security footage, Master Kenobi, there was nothing. No one was close enough to your quarters to be able to use the Force to harm you like this.”

_Anakin_?

“We have not informed Jedi Skywalker of what has happened to you as no one seems to know where he’s gone. Do you know where he is?”

Relief flooded him at her words. As long as Anakin did not know what had occurred, he would not foolishly and blindly run about, trying to help him. He would not be in any danger.

For a moment, he considered lying but knew that he would be found out. As much as he could out negotiate anyone in the Galaxy, outright lying about something was not something he could do. Not to mention, it was a rather silly thing to lie about. Reluctantly he nodded, but added, _Don’t disturb him_.

“Why not?” Barriss was confused. “Don’t you think he has a right to know what’s happened to you? He will come home immediately to help us investigate this.”

_I know. That is why I do not wish him to be told, not now. Let him enjoy his hard earned vacation, Knight Offee. He has more than earned it_.

“So have you,” she pointed out. “After all you’ve been through, don’t you think you deserve a vacation from this kind of…stuff?”

Obi-Wan’s head slowly shook, quickly stopping when even that caused agony to rush through him on waves of fire. Once it abated, he settled down as comfortably as he could. _No_ , he mouthed, resigned to being here for some time. _I have not been through as many changes as rapidly as my former Padawan has. Anakin will soon be given a command of his own and I believe that I shall be asked to take on another Padawan. It is only right that he enjoy this time he’s been granted_.

Her head shook, almost disapprovingly. On any other occasion, she would have admired his selfless attitude. In this situation, she found it ludicrous. He needed his friend and companion to be here, at his side, not gallivanting off somewhere else. While she sometimes felt that Anakin Skywalker was arrogant and reckless, when it came to his Master, there was no one better at caring for him and seeing that he took care of himself.

Often, she thought he was dangerously attached to him. But as there had been no sign that he'd become dark, she said nothing of her concerns to others. She remembered how Anakin had behaved on Ansion all those years ago, how he cared for his Master and felt that, while dangerous, if the worst he did was protect his Master and make sure that he took care of himself, then surely there could be nothing wrong with his feelings.

“I think you are being ridiculous about this. You may need him here to help combat this. But I can’t force you to tell us where he is.”

_Thank you, Knight Offee. I appreciate your consideration and concern in this matter. Please, would you ask Quinlan to see me? I wish to thank him myself_.

Before she could answer, a voice boomed out from behind her and it was only years of practice that stopped her from jumping in shock and glaring at him. “Well, well, well, look who has finally decided to wake up for us. Obi-Wan,” Quinlan said cheerfully but he was unable to hide the shadows of worry in his eyes as he stared at his friend.

Obi-Wan looked like a krayt dragon had landed on him. Well, how he imagined one would look if a krayt dragon had landed on them. He had never seen it for himself although he’d heard some stories. “How are you?”

_I am better thanks to your timely arrival, my friend. Thank you_.

“It was the least I could do,” he finally said, deciphering what Obi-Wan said with difficulty. It wasn’t that he was slow but his experience with the sick and infirm was not that great. Plus, the beard was just distracting. “Obi-Wan, you really should shave that thing off, it makes it rather hard for one to understand you.”

“Hard?” he repeated, startled into speaking. Barriss understood him well enough. Quin must be joking. Coughing furiously, he waved Barriss aside as his body shook under the waves of coughs. Finally, the attack subsided and he leaned back, wearily closing his eyes. Once he felt steady again, he opened them and looked at them both, tilting his head slightly to the side, being mindful of the pain. _I shall think on it, Quinlan. Tell me, what was it you wished to see me about_?

“Not tonight, gentlemen – and I only use that word only because Master Kenobi is present,” she added, glaring Quinlan down when it looked like he wanted to object, though she could not be sure it was about being called a gentleman. Or not. With Master Vos, one could never be entirely sure. “I do not like the sound of that cough and, since I cannot trust Master Vos to keep you silent, he shall have to leave.

“Master Kenobi, is that blood on you hand?” There was a rather horrified sound under the calm tone of the Healer.

Glancing down at the splattering of blood there as though he couldn’t quite believe that it was there at all, he reluctantly nodded, realizing that there was something wrong with him.

Tightening her lips disapprovingly at his silence about the blood – even though she suspected that he hadn’t even noticed it until she pointed it out to him, she pointed to Quinlan, “You – keep him in that bed and quiet. I don’t want to hear a peep out of him.” Then her glare focused on the injured man, “And you, Master Kenobi, stay right there. I will be right back.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Quinlan mock saluted her and watched as she left. “Obi-Wan, since when does a Knight get to order a Master around?”

_When the Knight is a healer, their rank surpasses that of a Master at times. It has to because of the nature of their work. Just don’t tell Anakin that, he may try to become one_.

Quinlan’s eyebrow raised at that, clearly hearing the underlying sardonic in the mouthed words, amused. Even without being able to vocalize, Obi-Wan’s understated sense of humor that escaped many in the Order still came across. “Does he even have the patience for healing? He can barely sit still and wait until he’s ordered into battle.”

_Anakin can do anything he puts his mind to_.

“If you say so. You do, after all, know him best.”

Glancing back to see if Barriss had returned, he missed the grimace of pain and sorrow that crossed Obi-Wan’s face. _That’s not quite true_ , he thought, despondently. Though he tried not to be hurt, to be stung by the words Quin spoke, he could not help but feel slapped in the face with the truth of the way things were between him and Anakin. _I don’t seem to know my former Padawan at all_.

Luminara walked over to them, a concerned look on her face as she listened to the latest news of his condition. Nodding once to Barriss, she gestured for Quinlan to take a step back. No trace of the worry she felt showed in her eyes or face. But she was deeply troubled by this development. Nothing about Obi-Wan’s situation made any sense to her – _nothing_. And that was saying a lot for she had seen more than a few unusual things during the course of this war.

“Obi-Wan, open your mouth as far as you can,” she ordered, taking out a small penlight. “Do not try to force anything, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

With a pained expression, he did as ordered. His throat stung as the air hit it and it took a great deal of control to keep from snapping it shut again.

After a moment, she nodded and turned off the light. “Thank you, Obi-Wan. Barriss, I want to do another, more thorough examination immediately. Quinlan, check over the apartment once again. No matter what you find there – even if you think it is insignificant – tell us without delay. And someone call Knight Skywalker, he needs to be here even if you don’t want him here, Obi-Wan. Now is not the time for you to be prideful. We need his help.”

The doors flew open, smashing under the weight of the Force push.

“I think he’s here,” Barriss dryly whispered, thankful that there was no one else in this part of the ward that day.

Storming past the other beds, he headed straight for Obi-Wan. His eyes were wild and scared as they rapidly took in the details of his Master on the bed. Bruises discolored his throat in painful looking rivers of red, brown, and black. Pale face dominated by eyes far too bruised and wounded for his sense of comfort. The white robe nearly drowned him in voluminous depths, blending perfectly into the bed sheets. If not for his vibrant colored hair and the marks on him, Anakin would have had a hard time discerning him between the clothes and the sheets.

It bothered him, _angered him_ , that he hadn’t noticed how wasted his Master had looked before he left. Yet another present he had to thank Ventress for. Obviously, his Master had not fully healed from her torture and he kept it from them all so that he could return to the field as quickly as possible. No wonder he wore so many clothes (though he had to admit, he’d always worn more clothes than the normal Jedi), he couldn’t bear to have anyone know just how ill he still was.

“I leave you for little more than a day and you can’t stay out of trouble, can you?” he joked, one arm crossing over the other as he looked down at him.

_Well, you know how it is_ , he replied slowly, unable to believe that Anakin was there. Unable to believe that he’d given up his time with Padmé to come see him.

“Yes,” he replied, voice deceptively even and calm. Only Obi-Wan was aware of just how much energy he was expending to keep himself from flinging himself at his Master in a tight _I am never going to let you out of my sight again, Master, and if you think I’m joking about this, try me_ hug. “Unfortunately with you, I know _exactly_ how it is. What happened, Master?”

“We do not know for sure, Knight Skywalker. It appears that someone was using the Force to strangle Master Kenobi – but there is no evidence that anyone was close enough to him or his rooms to do so. The security footage of both the hallways outside and within Master Kenobi’s quarters all reveal that what happened to him should not have occurred at all,” Luminara quietly explained, intercepting Obi-Wan’s explanation.

Anakin’s mind flew through the possibilities furiously, doing everything to prevent himself from focusing on what happened to Obi-Wan. Looking down at him on that bed, looking so lost and helpless, was agonizing. It screamed _failure_ at him. This happened because of Anakin’s own reckless desire to be with Padmé. If he hadn’t been in such a rush to see her…but now was not the time to indulge in truthful recriminations.

He had to help his Master. It was the only way he could make up for failing him. “Is it possible that the Sith Lord we’ve been searching for is the guilty one? That he could’ve cloaked his presence somehow?”

Luminara nodded, almost with distasteful reluctance. The reluctance was not because Anakin had suggested it so much as _what_ he was suggesting. A Sith Lord with the capability to not only mask himself in the Force but to hide himself from the cameras?

The idea was ludicrously possible.

And she hated that it was so. With every new revelation about this Sith Lord, the very nature of this war changed for her. The very nature of what was happening to the Jedi Order was changing for her. For if a Sith Lord was that powerful, was it not possible that he was hidden within the ranks of the Jedi himself?

Could he be one of the members of the High Jedi Council? Releasing these unpleasant thoughts into the Force, she focused on the matter at hand. “Why don’t you go with Quinlan and see what you can find out? Master Kenobi will be unavailable for a few hours.”

“Why?” Anakin half asked, half demanded.

Luminara stared at him until he looked away, shamed because he could _feel_ Obi-Wan pleading with him to behave. To not cause any trouble, he swallowed back his anger and waited for her to speak.

“There are severe lacerations on the inside of his throat that we did not see during our first tests. I wish to do a more invasive examination of his body and his Force presence to see if we can find a way to pinpoint the attacker. Even if the Sith Lord is responsible, there is no way they can completely erase themselves from the Force. A trace will always remain behind,” she quietly said.

Anakin slowly nodded, glancing at Obi-Wan through the corner of his eye. His poor Master was staring at his hands, face red with unease and humiliation. Under other circumstances, this would have been hilarious. Under other circumstances, he would have teased his Master about all these women wanting to get their hands on his naked body.

_Under other circumstances when his Master was not threatened with death’s imminent arrival_ …

“May we have a few moments alone?” he asked, amazed that his voice did not break as he spoke the words. He certainly felt as though his whole soul was being ripped from him, being shriven even as he stood there. It was a wonder no one else felt it, this torturous agony inside him.

“I’m afraid not,” Luminara said eyes full of regret, feeling something from him that tingled her senses. She could not say what it was, though it discomfited her and she knew she should examine it – she just couldn’t bring herself to. There was something extraordinarily powerful and deep about his feelings. “The sooner we get this started, the more information we will gain about the attacker. Excuse us.”

The young Knight was pushed aside as the bed Obi-Wan rested on was wheeled away. Unable to look away from the sight, he watched until he could no longer see it. He knew it was foolish but he had the oddest feeling that if he looked away for even a moment, he would not be seeing his Master again.

Quinlan had to take hold of his arm to pull him from the room.

“Not one for subtlety, are you?” Quinlan joked as they went along the nearly empty hall, heading towards the living quarters of the Jedi Masters.

“What?” Anakin automatically replied, mind still on Obi-Wan. Not wanting to let the thought that he’d not see his Master again eat away at him, he sought for the feel of the attacker around Obi-Wan in a way that the healers – even the other Jedi – were incapable of. It was not that it was difficult but no one would ever think of searching the way he was.

They allowed tradition to guide what they did – he was not so limited in perception.

There was something about his Master that felt abnormally familiar to him. But he really didn't want to place it right now because he feared what it meant. All he would allow himself to know for sure is that it was a wrong presence that both threatened and caressed his Master – almost as if it was staking some kind of claim upon him.

Anakin repressed a shiver at the thought before anger flared up, bright and powerful. _No one_ was going to claim or take his Master from him again. **_No one_**. He would not allow it - unless it was someone his Master truly cared for and asked that he let him go.

“Your entrance,” Quinlan elaborated. “It certainly seems to be a standard of yours to enter any field with panache.”

“Oh, that,” he waved dismissively. “From past experience, I’ve known the healers to try to keep me from my Master’s side. I didn’t want to deal with that. So, I refused to give them that chance.”

Quinlan looked at him then. Really looked at him and drew in a shuddering breath at the dark and forbidding expression on Anakin’s face. He shivered, realizing a paradoxical truth about the one they named their Chosen One. A truth that the Jedi Council had known all along about him. Why else would they be lenient towards his rather strange proclivities?

Why else would they let him remain with Obi-Wan all this time? His sheer devotion for his former Master knew no bounds – and should have had the Council screaming heretic. Yet, they allowed it – even encouraged it. Why?

This man had all the presence of just one of their battle ships – and ten thousand times their combined firepower. And the one man who held him at bay was injured grievously by some unknown being. The full weight of that power would be focused with an intensity that frightened him for it foretold something that he couldn’t quite grasp.

Yet, it was there all the same. Written so plainly on the other man’s face and he couldn’t stop the shiver that rocked him again. The one who had _dared_ to lay a violent hand upon Obi-Wan would suffer. Greatly.

Anakin walked a chasm between light and dark.

No, not quite walked. He straddled it, bridged it easily. While others would be uncomfortable in such a position, he looked as though he was quite at home there. Looking deeper, Quinlan was disturbed to realize something else.

Something he’d thought to find only in one person in the Order and he should have realized that this was something he should've known already. There was in Anakin the same kind of idiosyncrasy that had always exited in Obi-Wan. Neither man had a true division within them – the Dark and Light were united. To both men the Force was just that - the Force.

_If he ever fell in_ …

“Master Vos?” Anakin queried, looking at him in worry. The other Jedi had continued to walk even though they were at Master Kenobi’s quarters. “We’re here.”

“Oh, sorry,” he shrugged, seemingly casually, walking back to him. “I was just…thinking.”

"You should be careful doing that,” Anakin replied, opening the door. “Thinking might result in a great deal of pain for you.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Quinlan’s reply was pure snark. “You shouldn’t listen to everything Obi-Wan has to say. He doesn’t know everything.”

“Perhaps not – but he knows more than you,” Anakin shot back before inhaling sharply. One hand flung out, clutching the back of the couch, trying to remain upright. His other hand went to his head, as if to stop the pain that rocked him. The waves of anguish continued regardless of his actions and he forced himself to turn about, sliding down the back of the couch until he was on the ground, held upright only by the furniture he rested against.

“Knight Skywalker?”

“It’s Obi-Wan,” he gasped out. “He’s under attack.”

“How do you know?”

“Other than feeling the nail in the head?” Anakin snarked at him. He continued scathingly, adding more than a little touch of anger to his look, “Do you honestly think that we were stupid enough to allow our bond to dissolve after I was Knighted? The both of us knew that we would remain partners – the Republic could not afford to break us up. This was something that the Council had to bend on. It was therefore necessary to keep the bond and it has only grown stronger over the years. He’s in so much pain, there is little room for anything else inside of him. Quinlan, get me back to the med-wing, he needs me.”

“Luminara said,” Quinlan began to say, divided. Even with his revelation fresh in his mind, he was unsure about his move. This was dangerously unprecedented. What should he do?

“Luminara can shove her words out an airlock – and herself with them. I’m sure space is the best place for such beliefs,” he muttered, pushing himself up with extreme difficulty. “I’m the only one who can help my Master right now – and I intend to.”

Seeing his determination, Quinlan helped him rise – biting back a gasp at the torturous feelings that rushed through him at the touch. It took most of his strength to remain on his feet, to help the younger man walk out of the room. _Sith spit, if this is what Obi-Wan is going through right now, it’s no wonder that Skywalker wants to be with him_.

They stumbled back into the med-wing, noticing the silence instantly.

Anakin straightened up with some difficulty, moving away from Quinlan as he did. He had no choice really even though he was shaking so badly, he felt like he’d fall over under the slightest of pressures. If he looked bad, there was no way he could convince anyone that he could help.

Leaving the stricken Master Jedi behind him, reeling under the repercussions of the pain he felt emanating through Anakin and Obi-Wan’s bond, he entered the room, nearly losing his stomach at the sight of Obi-Wan’s convulsions. His Master’s poor body twisted about, bending in so many directions all at once, Anakin feared that he would break in half.

Luminara looked up, about to order him out of the room and stopped, seeing Barriss’ head shake. The other woman had sensed something, saw something that the Jedi Master could not quite grasp. Lips tightening in disapproval, she waited to see what would happen. Her look plainly said that she did not approve of this.

Anakin ignored them easily. They did not matter to him. They were inconsequential right now. Only Obi-Wan did. With that thought in mind, he walked right up to his Master, the pain they shared forgotten. With the gentlest of touches – as though he was handling the most delicate china – he grasped Obi-Wan’s cold, limp hand. “Master,” he softly called, “Come back to me.”

The healers gasped at the tone in his voice. Delicately loving and uncaring of who heard it, he had actually spoken without words of his forbidden attachment. A shiver ran down both women's spines as they watched the two, wondering what would happen. There was something strange, something of pure light in the air, and it formed around the two of them.

“I will not lose you, Master. You really have no choice in this matter. It is time to come back, to help me do what I alone am not strong enough to,” Anakin pleaded, feeling an infinitesimal change in him.

A cough was torn from Obi-Wan, blood trickled down the side of his face. The convulsions slowed down, easing up. Shivering under the loss of blood, he tried to curl up around himself, trying to warm up.

Lovingly, Anakin cleaned and wiped his face off with a soft cloth.

Then, with no thought towards any kind of self-consciousness, he crawled into the bed with his Master, covering his shaking body like a blanket. All the while, he kept up a soothing litany of words, pleading with his Master to remain with them – with him.

Luminara and Barriss felt as though they were intruding upon a truly intimate scene they had no business witnessing at all. It was quite possible the most loving, the most devoted scene either woman had ever seen in their lives. For all the Jedi’s vaunted compassion, they had never really done anything half so giving.

It frightened them how easily the two men seemed to lean upon each other, how the Force seemed to flow between them, to strengthen them. What they had was a partnership that defied all of their teachings and understandings.

How was such a thing possible? Were not these feelings detrimental to the way the served the Republic? How could they _live_ like this? Did they not betray the Order by doing so? And yet, it was obvious that they did not betray anyone. Was there something that the two men knew that they did not?

It was an almost unconscious decision but the two women turned and left the room. They did not understand what they had seen, had felt – and they did not want to do so. They were not ready for it. Instead of looking at it and trying to accept it, they would turn away and ignore it, as though that would erase it from their memories.

Finally, after what seemed like eons to Anakin, Obi-Wan’s eyes fluttered open and met his wearily. Resting his forehead against his Master’s, Anakin allowed a few tears to escape his eyes, “What’s doing this to you, Master? Or rather, who?” he asked.

Obi-Wan’s hand rose to shakily wipe away the tears and shrugged, _I don’t know, Anakin_.

A bitter smile crossed his face, “It’s Ventress, isn’t it?”

Obi-Wan’s face went pale with horrified terror. Both at the idea that it could be the creature that still haunted him and his dreams – and that Anakin had echoed his own worries when he’d heard about the nature of his wounds and how they had happened. As much as he wished his thoughts had been otherwise, he couldn’t deny them to himself. To Anakin on the other hand… _You killed her, Anakin_.

“Did you not once tell me that a truly malevolent spirit can hang on to life even when the body has expired?” he asked, smiling only a little at the shocked look that crossed Obi-Wan’s face at the reminder. “Oh, yes, Master. I do listen to you when you talk. I may not always choose to do what you say – but I always listen to you.”

_I do not think this applies to us at all_.

“And I do,” his reply was firm. “Now, where did you find this reference?”

Obi-Wan was silent for a time, regretting that he’d ever told Anakin about that. In that moment, he couldn’t even remember _why_ they had been talking of it, though he remembered why he was researching it. After Zigoola, he’d thought it best to be more prepared for another Sith trap. As much as he felt that it was – indeed – Asajj Ventress who was responsible for these attacks, he had no real proof that it was.

And Anakin had killed her – they saw the body. There was no way she could have survived being decapitated.

“Master,” he was exasperated, “You know that I will look for the reference myself. It would spare us time and work if you would just cooperate for once to **_save your own life. Now, where is the damn reference!_** ”

He hadn’t meant to yell that last part. He really hadn't. But Obi-Wan’s silence usually meant that his Master was not going to help them out at all. Something that irked him to no end because he knew that it was his Master’s own opinion that he was not worth all this worry and work.

There was a resigned sigh before one word entered his mind, _Whills_.

“What?”

_I discovered it when I was doing research on the Shamans of the Ancient Order of the Whills who had learned to somehow hold on to one’s conscious identity after death. I do not know if it is true, but there is one holo-cube in my den about it_.

“Where?” Anakin asked, eagerly.

Obi-Wan yawned, giving in. He knew that Anakin would not yield on this and truthfully, he just couldn’t get the energy up to fight him about this. _I believe that it is the small, ugly one you used to complain about – loudly and often whenever I read it_.

The young Knight made a face, knowing instantly which one Obi-Wan referred to.

He _hated_ that blasted holo-cube and had often wished he could get rid of it. It was written in one of those dead languages they’d made them study but he could never quite catch on seeing as how the language was more complex grammatically than Master Yoda’s own language.

A soft breath against his throat brought him out of his thoughts and he glanced down, a gentle smile gracing his face. Obi-Wan had curled into his embrace more fully, almost luxuriating in his arms. His face was nestled right between his throat and shoulder. Surprisingly, one hand held onto his vest. It was almost as if he was afraid that Anakin might disappear if he didn’t hold onto a part of him – like that would ever happen.

The sight of his Master curled so trustingly in his arms softened his anger, easing away the edges until only his love for him remained. “Sleep well, Master. I shall guard your sleep this night as you often have mine,” he whispered, pulling him in closer. _I’d guard it every night if you would just let me_.

* * *

_To be continued hopefully one day..._


End file.
